Preacher Profile: Stephen Locklear

My name is Stephen Locklear. I live in the small town of Pembroke, NC, which is also where I was raised. I have been blessed to have wonderful Christian parents (James and Brenda Locklear) and three brothers (Aaron, Mark, Everette) and a sister (Melissa). I was raised in a Christian home and attended Christian summer camps several times. I had a false conversion experience at one of these summer camps when I was 11 years old. It was an emotional experience that resulted in no change of life and no desire for intimacy with God. God was patient with me for the next 10 years, as I tried to convince myself that I was saved, even though I wanted to continue living in sin. In the early hours of November 17, 1994, in my college apartment living room, I became engaged in a spiritual conversation with my Jewish roommate. He was not a believer and as I attempted to defend the fact that Jesus is the Messiah, God brought conviction on me like never before. I went to my room to get alone with God and He saved me right then by His irresistible grace. I repented of my sin and trusted in Christ as my Savior and He granted me eternal life.

God changed me heart so that I loved the things I used to hate, and hated the things I used to love. I now loved God, loved reading the Bible and praying, and loved going to church.

In 1998, God blessed me with a wonderful, loving wife (Natoshia). God gave us a son in 2001 (Nathan) and a daughter in 2004 (Brianna). In 2008, God called me into street evangelism after watching an episode of the Way of the Master with Ray Comfort and Kirk Cameron. I began setting up booths at parades, festivals, fairs and flea markets in order to give out gospel tracts and engage the lost in gospel conversations. I attended an evangelism training called The Ambassador’s Academy in May 2010, where I open-air preached for the first time. I later attended another evangelism conference in Philadelphia (Jeremiah Cry Ministries), where I did more street preaching and it was confirmed to my conscience that I was called to open-air preach. I have been privileged to lead evangelism training in three different churches.

In the summer of 2013, God led me to several other brothers and sisters in Christ who were also burdened for street evangelism and we began doing monthly outreaches at festivals, abortion clinics, and college campuses. I was blessed to be able to attend two Super Bowl outreaches with Sports Fan Outreach International (SFOI). In May 2014, my family and I began attending Crossway of Pembroke church. Today, God continues to mold me into the image of His Son Jesus Christ and gives me the boldness and wisdom that I need to engage the lost with the Gospel.